IT may have been more than six years since the pair worked together at Everton, but David Moyes has taken more than just a passing interest while watching the Wayne Rooney saga unfold this week.

Days of posturing, brinksmanship and press releases culminated yesterday in Rooney, only days after intimating Manchester United did not match his ambition, performing an apparent U-turn and signing a new five-year contract at the club.

For Moyes, the situation was nothing new. During his lengthy reign at Goodison, the Scot has witnessed a shift in power from the clubs to the players.

Witness the desire of Joleon Lescott to leave, the ongoing refusal of Steven Pienaar to sign a new contract, and, of course, Rooney's own exit from Everton back in August 2004.

And while the Goodison manager believes it is time to redress the balance, he accepts there at present seems little that can be done.

“I think the clubs have to be a bit more in control,” says Moyes. “We're in a situation now where the players with a year to go on their contract can speak to other clubs abroad. That's one example of players having more power.

“There are too many things in favour of the player. But I'm not sure we have any choice. European laws would probably have a counter-argument for anything we came up with, so it's all very well me saying we should go back to a certain way because in truth it would never happen.

“I've not had any major problems with players. But we've had some situations here where players have wanted to leave and didn't want to play. We have to be careful where that goes.

“I could also ask if manager power is getting too strong. Because we are all only employees of the club.”

Moyes, who will now miss out on a possible transfer fund windfall after Rooney decided to say put, adds: “I don't know what can actually change. You have the Bosman ruling and Webster ruling, so it's very difficult to see it going any other way.

“So many clubs now are really struggling financially, and these are companies that should be trying to make some kind of profit if they can just like in any other business.

“Maybe everybody needs to come together. It used to be that if the club made any money, it would go back to the players. Nowadays the clubs are becoming overdrawn to accommodate the players.”

That even a manager as experienced as Sir Alex Ferguson has been caught up in a player power issue for Moyes underlines how deep-rooted the problems are.

“For Manchester United to be encountering it, that is the thing. But there have probably been players who have wanted to leave Real Madrid and Barcelona for whatever reason. I'm sure the partnership they have at Manchester United is a good fit for Sir Alex and for Wayne.

“But it's not just player power that's changed the game. The way the media cover it has changed. There was a trust with the journalists in the old days, but because the journalists are looking for more and more stories and things come from the agents, it makes it difficult for the manager to be really close with the journalists.

“I'm don't mean to single out the media, but if they are getting information from both the manager and the agents, then everything is out in the open. There's very little that can be kept within the building.

“That's the way it is. I'm not saying it's the right way, and in many ways it's a shame and the managers and the journalists agree on that.

“But we also agree it makes it difficult to have a close relationship between the two. It's sad it has come to that.”

Pienaar has thus far shown no signs of penning a new deal and, if no agreement is reached before the New Year, the South African will be free to talk to interested clubs from abroad.

But when asked if the midfielder's departure was inevitable, Moyes says: “I don't know. I said this time last year that if it came to this situation that I was happy to let his contract run down. For what we paid for him, it is worth doing it. I'm hoping he would choose to stay, but if he doesn't then that happens.”

With both Pienaar and Mikel Arteta doubts for today's trip to Tottenham Hotspur and Leon Osman sidelined for at least a month, a rare first-team opening may fall the way of Diniyar Bilyaletdinov, who replaced Osman at half-time in last Sunday's derby win over Liverpool.

The Russian has started only one Premier League games this season and Moyes admits that the winger is still to reproduce his best from since arriving at Goodison Park for £9m from Lokomotiv Moscow more than a year ago.

“Bily is struggling a bit with his confidence,” says the Goodison manager. “I thought pre-season would be a chance for him to come through.

“But it probably took Steven Pienaar a year to fit into the team, and Bily may well get his opportunity in the coming weeks so it is up to him to take it.

“Maybe he wasn't quite at the top of his game, but he was important at different times last season, he has contributed by getting us important goals.

“We were all hoping we'd see something extra this season and at the moment we haven't seen that. The boy knows he needs to improve his all-round play. But there are players who have come here, even English boys, and taken time to settle.”